Sunday, September 06, 2015

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 6, 2015): Where Am I?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 6, 2015): Where Am I?:
Q: Name a well-known U.S. geographical place — two words; five letters in the first word, six letters in the last — that contains all five vowels (A, E, I, O and U) exactly once. It's a place that's been in the news. What is it?
I see a problem with the puzzle; isn't the name of this place a single word?
A: (MOUNT) DENALI

190 comments:

  1. Here's my standard reminder... don't post the answer or any hints that could lead directly to the answer (e.g. via a chain of thought, or an internet search) before the deadline of Thursday at 3pm ET. If you know the answer, click the link and submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.

    You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't give the answer away. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the Thursday deadline. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Below is what I posted earlier this morning at the end of last week's blog:

    skydiveboy Sun Sep 06, 05:40:00 AM PDT

    So, to sum it all up, again we don't get a real puzzle.

    AND: Yes, Blaine, you are correct.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My guess is that the puzzle's creator (Ben Bass) probably submitted this awhile ago before it was in the news and then Will chose to use it since it has been in the headlines.

      Delete
    2. And yet, it has never had this name. . .

      Delete
    3. I think WS usually, if not always, uses puzzles he receives very quickly. I have never been to this geographical location but have always called it by the six letter word.

      Delete
    4. I once submitted a puzzle and many months later, he used it.

      Delete
  3. Oh! I got the answer and then realized Will is not using the right name of the place, and then I read the above. I guess we have the right answer, which is wrong. ---Rob

    ReplyDelete
  4. So you haven't heard of the IDAHO JUNGLE?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Blaine, it is, of course.

    This Ben Bass/Will Shortz gaffe is not as forgiveable as others.

    My clue from the end of last week: "Ida"

    ReplyDelete
  6. "...that contains all five vowels (A, E, I, O and U)..."

    Why no Y?!

    LegoHey!He(OughtSay)IOweYou(ATougherPuzzle)IWonderSometimesWhyWillDon't

    ReplyDelete
  7. Maybe Will wanted an easy puzzle for all the new immigrants coming into the country?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Phonetically, remove the middle of one of Blaine's signposts.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Will ought to know better. Glad others were able to pick up on this issue.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Others here have been less than complimentary about the quality of the puzzles lately. I have held my tongue until now. But I truly think this week’s puzzle is bogus. The place referred to does _NOT_ have two words in its name – only one, and does not contain all five vowels.

    Chuck

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  11. Brings to mind a Johnny Horton song.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Glad to read these posts to confirm my answer.

    ReplyDelete
  13. White house was my first idea.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Those who follow Rex Parker would be aware of a somewhat similar complaint about structuring geographic names.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Stuck on this for a second, at first. But SDB has an alternate answer, I'm sure. And if we try harder, WW might have an answer too.

    Some media do use the 2 word answer, helps reinforce the collective ignorance.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Name a state in which many people reside. Move the fourth letter to the end, and you will get the name of a place recently in the news.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Okay, we all make mistakes. If you don’t believe that, visit my puzzle blog, Puzzleria!
    But Will will have to acknowledge this geographical glitch, perhaps even addressing it on-air next Sunday.

    But the bigger bee in my bonnet this week concerns Mr. Shortz’s exclusion of "Y" as a vowel in his puzzle wording.
    So, to vent my frustration, I wrote the following verse”

    Why, oh why can’t the letter Y get no respect?
    We kowtow to the “Big Five,” bow down, genuflect!
    Y is consonant with all the rules… I suspect
    That the other five vowels avowed, in effect:

    “Nothing personal, Y, though, you have this defect --
    An identity crisis, some weird disconnect,
    Are you consonant? Vowel? Which do we select?
    Please don’t dub us Neanderthal, stiff- or red-necked…

    Within reason we’re tolerant vowels, but next you will
    Be declaring it normal to be a transtextual!”


    LegoItTakesAVillageToRaiseARuckus

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was going to say I think this week's puzzle answer comes up in one of yours, Lego. Coincidence, or just being up on current events? You be the judge. BTW I actually like the new submission website NPR has. About time they updated it.

      Delete
    2. How come NO ONE remembers that there is ANOTHER 'sometimes' vowel? W! Have you taken a look lately at the shortest pangrams, (pan-alphabetic sentences), and how many of them borrow a word from the Welsh having W as its only vowel?

      Delete
    3. I know of two pangrams using the welsh word CWM, {"Quartz glyph job vex'd cwm finks." (6 words?, 26 letters) and "Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz." (6 words, 26 letters, Dmitri Borgmann).} and one pangram using the welsh word CRWTH {"Squdgy fez, blank jimp crwth vox." (6 words, 26 letters, Claude Shannon)}

      Delete
    4. I remember very well, but I always say, Three's a crwth.

      Delete
    5. PJB beat me to the punch about the NPR puzzle AGAIN coinciding with Puzzleria. I suppose it's the 'in the news' angle, so it might be unavoidable?

      Delete
  18. Replies
    1. That makes two ways this puzzle comes up a little Shortz.

      Delete
    2. Exactly!

      It is precisely the same issue as last week. Word one is not necessary, as Rob voiced early on. Word two is all you need.

      It reminds me of the oil biz salesman at my company who'd introduce us as "This is Matt, this is Paul, and this here's our girl geologist."

      Delete
    3. So can we call you GG instead of WW?

      Delete
    4. Got your 10 WW, I'll go with 17!

      Delete
    5. ecoarchitect, no thanks. I could call you JR if you do. . .;-)

      Wordnerd -10, right?

      Delete
    6. As in the former. I suppose I ought to have added periods to it as in J.R. J.R. D___ was quite a good 'ole boy. I did get him to call me by my first name by the end of my years there and leave off the GG.

      Delete
  19. Add a letter the name of this place and rearrange to name a country.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Word Woman... unless that is a "minus 10." If that is the case, point well taken.

      Charles. Nice "piggyback" to Will's NPR answer in its corrected form. I jetted over this country once and dreamt I spotted a mudslide on the rocks.

      LegoWithAHankeringForAHotTurkeYSandwich

      Delete
    2. A well publicized contest was played there - 43 years ago.

      Delete
    3. There are 2 countries that work for this. 3 if you include homophones. And at least 3 women's names.

      I fear this is another puzzle where we spend too much time trying to make it interesting. Or just go and do something better.

      Delete
    4. Super Zee: there was another, perhaps more important, contest there 29 years ago. The results weren't as clear.

      2 years later while painting a watercolor I was the only person not with the police to see one of the contestants drive by. No clue there, but other than visiting the country for a week that's my only personal connection.

      Delete
  20. Now I am finally up I thought I would post a musical hint, but then I realized no one here needs a hint any more than anyone needs another tasteless bagel.

    So I noticed there is a simple puzzle for arriving at the musical hint I was going to post. I was going to post that the name of a famous American composer is a hint and give the name of that composer. But you get this easy puzzle instead:

    Say the name of this famous American composer and phonetically you will describe a transporter of fuel. Who is it, and why is it a hint to the NPR puzzle?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When my primary fuel is alcohol I say to my favorite bartender, "Frank, Zappa" beer here. And remember to Philip Glass. I usually call for a Cole Porter, but sometimes I Harold Budd wiser. If he tries to take it away I ask him to give me my Brubeck. When I've had too much I ask him to Bernstein.

      Maybe when I sober up I'll figure out how that works with the puzzle and stop my wandering attempts to Terry Riley.

      Delete
    2. (Ahem!)

      ecoarchitect,

      I believe that one of your nice puns is actually sdb's intended answer!

      Delete
    3. I find myself thinking of Hoagy, as Labor Day begins.

      Delete
    4. If you drink and drive, your Carmichael somebody.

      Delete
  21. Returning, somewhat, to the original challenge, there is a geographic feature in the United States with a two word, nine letter, name which contain the five vowels (sorry Lego) in order. What and where is it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. written facetiously?

      does that make you happier, Lego?

      Delete
    2. skydiveboy,

      American composer? He’s a native of Peru!
      Why is he a clue to Will’s challenge? Healy.

      No apology necessary, SuperZee… especially if ron’s Lake Bijou is your intended answer. I live in Minnie-Soh-tah!

      Ecoarchitect,
      Tour de force reply to sdb’s comment. Yes, I am much happier now after reading your waggish comment. I am on the last day of a three-day fast and needed a reason to smile.

      LegoWrittenAbstemi…Well,YouKnow

      Delete
    3. And you are saying that Peruvians are not as American as can be?

      Delete
    4. Sure, Peruvians may be South American, but they are not as American, say, as Canby Americans from Minnesota!

      LegoN-32,O-70,J-6,G-58,I-17...Jingo!

      Delete
    5. Peruvians not only Canby Americans, but Arby Americans, and besides isn't Minnesota actually a province of Norway? And doesn't that put into question the appropriateness of you calling yourselves American?

      Delete
    6. Well done Ron. Lake Bijou it is...

      Delete
  22. Here is something to think about: Name the only country that contains all 5 vowels only once.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mozambique
      Equatorial Guinea
      South Ossetia

      Delete
    2. I should had said one word country. Good answers, Ron

      Delete
  23. Near the end of last week's thread I posted the following:

    I posted on Sun Sep 06, at 06:30:00 AM PDT:

    To show that I know the answer: If you go to Wikipedia, enter "<5-letter-word> <6-letter-word>" into the search box and click on the magnifying glass icon, you will be re-directed to <6-letter-word alone!> If you then <cntrl-F> and enter "<5-letter-word> <6-letter-word>" and search, you will find TWO occurrences! - the first of which is within the "(Redirected from ...) note at the top! The only occurrence that was on the page already of both words - one right after the other - is in the last sentence of the short "History" section.

    ReplyDelete
  24. There is a perfectly good two word answer to the puzzle as stated,
    with none of the problems mentioned above. This is a "real puzzle",
    and the answer has been in the news!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I just realized my proposed answer has one too many letters.
    My apologies!

    ReplyDelete
  26. The vowel criteria rules out "Rowan County"

    ReplyDelete
  27. NPR changed the submission page for answers (at least from mobile devices); no longer asks your town.

    Found an answer 86.7 miles from Seattle, but it has 2 i s.

    How the heck were Amite County (MS) or Aiken County (SC) in the news recently?

    I am struggling with this one. But, unlike Will's intended answer, my answers will not irk the natives.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just to further complicate matters, I don't believe the word "recently" appears in the original statement of the puzzle.

      Delete
  28. There is an answer, 4 letters first word, 10 letters second, which not only has all the vowels, including Lego's y, but has them in alphabetical order. No w, though.

    It has been in the news lately, you just have to choose your news source carefully.

    ReplyDelete
  29. A number of solvers here have said they'd like my weekly NPR challenge puzzles to be harder. I hear you. There'll be some harder ones coming up.

    But I don't want all the challenges to be hard. My goal is to present ones of assorted difficulty levels -- easy, medium, and hard -- over time, so everyone has at least some challenges that are exactly to their liking.

    In case you're curious, here are my criteria when creating and selecting challenge puzzles:

    1) The puzzle should sound intriguing, and if the answer involves wordplay, it should somehow be elegant and worth the effort to find. (This is all very subjective, of course.)

    2) The instructions should be simple enough to be held in the head without being written down. I imagine a lot of Sunday morning NPR listeners lying in bed, cooking breakfast, or driving to church when the puzzle comes on -- i.e., not in a position right then to put my puzzle on paper. The instructions should be simple enough that they don't have to.

    3) The solver needs a starting point to think about. An example of a poor challenge, in my opinion, would be something like ... Think of a 9-letter word that becomes its own opposite when you drop its middle letter. (I just made that up.) Well, that could be very cool wordplay. But how does the solver even start to get it? There's no way other than painstakingly going through a list of all the 9-letter words in the English language, which isn't much fun. I try to give the solver a hook.

    4) Finally, the puzzle should not be readily solvable by computer. This is my "rule" that has gotten the hardest to follow over the years. I used to be able to present anagrams, word ladders, and other wordplay that online tools nowadays can solve in an instant.

    A few weeks ago I had a challenge that I thought computers wouldn't help much with at all -- and I was wrong. That was the one in which you were to find the longest possible common word that can be anagrammed into two shorter, one-syllable words that rhyme but have no letters in common. My best answer (CHICKPEAS --> CHIC + SNEAK) was found by hand, and I thought NPR listeners would have to work the same way. But, no, as I found out, there are now online rhyming tools that greatly simplify solving it. Grrr.

    Well, if people want to solve with computer assistance, that's fine. It's your puzzle. You can do it any way you like. But I *try* to present challenges that are solvable just as readily using old-fashioned brainwork.

    I hope this explains some of my thought process.

    Meanwhile, regarding this week's challenge, I'm aware that the answer officially goes by a one-word name. But as a Google search shows, the place is widely known by a two-word version, at least informally, and I'm looking for that informal usage.

    --Will Shortz

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Will -

      Thank you for taking the time to explain your selection criteria. At risk of speaking for the rest of us in "Blaine's World", while we may grouse about puzzles we find too easy, we are among your most loyal fans.

      One quibble - the anagram for CHICKPEAS was CHIC + SPEAK. In your comment above, an "N" sneaked in.

      Delete
    2. SuperZee,
      You have spoken beautifully for me (and perhaps the rest of us). But, of course, I will still say a few things – because I cannot help myself.

      Will, thanks for your thoughtful comments. When I complain about your puzzles being too easy, it just means that I am bragging about how amazingly smart I am! “Will’s puzzle is simple! It is beneath my superior intelligence.” It is nothing but pure braggadocio from someone who is really not that bright!

      All four of your points – but especially the first three – hit home for me as a purveyor of puzzles on Puzzleria! I am copying and pasting them and consulting them every time I venture to create a puzzle. Invaluable insights.

      SuperZee said it well: We may bitch and moan and grouse, but are among your most loyal fans. Most of us cannot wait for Sunday mornings. Keep up the great work.

      LegoWhatNatashaSaid…UnScrabbled

      Delete
    3. Will, thanks for writing and for clarifying your puzzle-making strategy. I strive to focus on the puzzle with my comments, rather than on the puzzle maker. I would hope all of us would do that as well. After all, we come here for spun puns, scintillating wordplay, camaraderie, and fun, right?

      Delete
    4. Will, I appreciate so much your taking the time to spell out your criteria that is the basis for the Sunday Puzzle. I think these types of puzzles are what attract me and others to the program every Sunday. I know of no other program that is so captivating.

      Delete
    5. Natasha, it is captivating. Why else would we return week after week? Crime beaucoup, er, I mean merci beaucoup! ;-)

      Delete
  30. A certain politician is rolling in his grave.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And his state is still in denial.

      Delete
    2. Though I have heard that the board of the politician's library is considering renaming it after the place. The renewed publicity is a boon for this vowel-ridden state.

      Delete
  31. I bank at bank Bank of America.
    See dog Spot run.
    I grew up in borough Brooklyn.
    I'm going to the top of the world North Pole.

    Chuck

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And you work at the Department of Reduplication Redundancy Department?

      Delete
    2. Many people say they are going to visit Mount Fujiyama. In Madrid people say they are going to visit "The El Prado" museum. When I was a kid we were lost driving around Montreal, and my father said look on the map, we were about to cross the "Pont Bridge."

      Delete
  32. When I lived in Cobachi, Sonora, Mexico, the people always referred to this feature by one name because "Why would you need to tell a _____ it is a ______?"

    ReplyDelete
  33. C'est pas toujours du caviar

    ReplyDelete
  34. Where there's a Will, there is a way! Or a relative:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My father, was a specialist in Estate Law. His comment, "Where there's a will, there's a contest'", seems rather apt.

      Delete
  35. We have a geographic place name in OHIO that also solves this puzzle. North Carolina has one too. They use the same first word as the Presumed Right Answer.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Replies
    1. Welcome Mendo Jim!

      ...you old curmudgeon, you.

      Delete
    2. Nadir of the sun / zenith of a soul

      someone with some poetic skills ought to do something with that

      Delete
    3. Paul, I believe you just did.

      Mendo Jim, your comment that piqued my interest.

      Delete
    4. ^^^ delete "that."

      Will Blogger ever add an edit button? Please.

      Delete
    5. No, wait a minute, there are two O's in 'zenith of a soul' -- what's the right word to end on (with only one U for a vowel)?

      Delete
    6. How about
      nadir of the sun / a soul's zenith
      ?

      Delete
    7. Post-Seven-Day Snack

      Nadir of the sun, zenith of a bun,
      Both guided by a hand which
      Made Creation run and, when that work was done,
      Chowed down: Hot Turkey Sandwich.

      LegoLordTennyson…Anyone?

      Delete
  37. Anybody else feel like we're the restless kids in the back of the minivan on vacation, and we just had dad explain not all life is exactly as you would hope?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not exactly, since dad was always lecturing us like that. This was more like when you're wandering around in the desert, complaining about how hot and dry it is, and the bush next to you bursts into flame and starts talking back.

      Delete
    2. Really! Did that happen to you too? I named mine George W. and immediately put the fire out with the only liquid I had.

      Delete
  38. In "The Blues Brothers", John Candy's character mentions the names of two state troopers. One is part of the answer, the other is an anagram of the other part. If you know the movie like I do, you know the names.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If I knew the movie like you do, pjb, I'd probably be afraid to admit it here. I vaguely recall the 'Rawhide' scene, however, and one with Ray Charles in a music store?

      Delete
  39. What was funny was seeing the entirely male band sing "Stand By Your Man", with Elwood going "Baby!" after the line "keep giving all the love you can". I do have to admit I've seen the film many times, it's one of my favorite movies with early SNL stars.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Of those I'd have to say Blues Brothers, Animal House, Meatballs, Trading Places, and of course the ever quotable Caddyshack. nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

    ReplyDelete
  41. No typing error there. I'm just quoting Ty Webb. bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb

    ReplyDelete
  42. For months now, Aiken County has been as the center of a federal investigation about United restoring a flight there at the behest of David Samson, former NY-NJ Port Authority Chair. Samson has vacation property in Aiken County. United Airlines CEO resigned today. (Likely not Will's intended answer.)

    ReplyDelete
  43. I actually enjoy some easy puzzles every so often. Even when they've got a slight flaw - I didn't even notice the flaw at first because I'm not especially erudite, and have heard it referred to on the news with two names, not just one. --Margaret G.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Margaret G., if you go by that name, why do your posts say Unknown?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think because I'm not on livejournal, wordpress, typepad, aim, or openid. But I'm not really sure. It's just what this blog (and some others) put in when I reply. So I try to remember to type my name afterwards, so as not to be completely anonymous. --Margaret G.

      Delete
  45. OK...time is running short my friends,,,
    WW, I did get your "10" but do any of you ( SDB, ecoarchitect, superzee, legolambda, Enya..et al) or any of us have $67,220 to get this answer?
    I'll kindly put my head under my pillow now! xo, wn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yukon and Ikon might do it someday...not in my budget with the "Bills" stacking up! :)

      Delete
  46. Will Shortz's post above was like poetry to my ears, and my eyes too. I was transported figuratively to a moonlit evening drifting on the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt on a floating dinner barge.. I could even see pyramid silhouettes in the distance. Ah, the Nile. Never have I encountered such an example of self-delusion.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Surprisingly timely news from the world of paleontology: A new human ancestor has been found in Africa: Homo naledi.

    (As Word Woman has said, thank you, Universe!)

    (Hint: What's the opposite of a cave?)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. quite a find there.

      "Researchers analyzing the H. naledi fossils have not yet nailed down their age..." - will some politicians still live in denial of evolution?

      "Some of its primitive anatomy, like a brain no larger than an average orange..." AT LAST! An explanation of the hair color!

      Delete
    2. Hmmm.... Trump, John Boehner, Strom Thurmond.... maybe we need to take a page (almost) from South Africa, and declare an orange-free state?

      Delete
    3. I can hear it now "Smarter than the average orange-sized Homo naledi brain."

      And since we are discussing brain size. . .

      Delete
    4. jan, you are a star anagrammer!

      Delete
  48. Replies
    1. I guess my lack of education has hurt me some: I can't understand the writing on the wall...

      Delete
    2. We shall all be atbash in 45 minutes or so. . .

      Delete
    3. Aw, come on now, jan, you are older than me.

      Delete
  49. After reading the puzzle, the first promising word that came to my mind was SOUTH. Something in the _A_I_E seemed like the most likely complement, and, from somewhere RACINE popped into my head. I Googled SOUTH RACINE, and, sure enough, there's one in the puzzle author's hometown, even (where it probably appears in the local news every so often). I knew that wasn't it, but if it was that easy to find an 'alternative' answer, I figured there must be a lot of them (way more than 19, I thought at the time). Then I read ecoarchitect's first hint, and hoped 'the answer' wasn't what I thought it was. Then I listened to Will say it was an easy one, and knew 'it' was. That's when I posted the following:

    Bad, bad puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. [MOUNT] DENALI

      "Ida" refers to Ida Saxton, the wife of President William McKinley, of the interim name of the peak.

      "Presidential sex tapes" alludes to a salmon spawning on President Obama
      during his recent visit to Alaska.

      "-10" points to the 10 foot loss in Denali's elevation after a recent USGS resurveying.

      Delete
    2. Reminds me of Leon Czolgosz, which reminds me of Gavrilo Princip, which reminds me of the last time Hungarian troops were massing on the Serbian border. Sheesh!

      Delete
  50. Mount Denali

    My hint:

    “So, to sum it all up, again we don't get a real puzzle.”

    I am a climber, and climbers are concerned with summiting a peak or mountain. We don’t say we climbed one unless we actually reached the summit. Instead we say we attempted to climb it. Denali is a very popular mountain for climbers.

    ReplyDelete
  51. MOUNT DENALI

    > Uh... nailed it!

    Anagrams to Denali. The hesitation was because we had just been discussing this over at PEOTS.

    > Maybe Will wanted an easy puzzle for all the new immigrants coming into the country?

    Coming Into the Country, about Alaska, is one of John McPhee's best read books.

    > Phonetically, remove the middle of one of Blaine's signposts.

    Remove "ago" from "Diagon Alley".

    > And his state is still in denial.

    Another anagram. Ohio isn't taking it well.

    > Surprisingly timely news from the world of paleontology: A new human ancestor has been found in Africa: Homo naledi.

    Yet another anagram!

    ReplyDelete
  52. Denali (Mount Denali)

    Last Sunday I said, ”I truly think this week’s puzzle is bogus. The place referred to does _NOT_ have two words in its name – only one, and does _NOT_ contain all five vowels.” As far as I know it has never been referred to as Mount Denali in any authoritative source.

    Chuck

    ReplyDelete
  53. MOUNT DENALI, Mount “the high one,” formerly Mount McKinley.
    It is not a one-word mountain always & everywhere. See above link.

    2nd Answer: MOUNT GILEAD, Ohio.

    3rd Answer: MOUNT GILEAD, North Carolina.

    ECO's countries:
    DENALI + C = ICELAND.
    DENALI + R = IRELAND
    DENALI + T = TIELAND (homophone of Thailand)

    Remove “ago” from Blaine's signpost: DIAGON ALLEY to yield DIN ALLEY!

    ReplyDelete
  54. “Mount” Denali

    My comment on last week’s blog, “When I first read this challenge, I wanted to take a peek at my atlas. Then I realized I'd spelled it wrong,” was a play on the homonyms peek and peak.

    At the same time, I must admit some surprise to not have seen more wordplay on pique.

    But I loved the anagrams.

    ReplyDelete
  55. My post from Sunday:

    Those who follow Rex Parker would be aware of a somewhat similar complaint about structuring geographic names.

    Given the simplicity of the answer, I had a rather vague reference, but in crosswords there has been some debate as using RIVER PO or THE PO to slip a two-letter name in where the minimum answer length is three letters. Seemed to have some similarity to using MOUNT DENALI to get all those vowels in.

    ReplyDelete
  56. My blogs -

    "I'll ask a .... " For Alaska
    "....another half-baked puzzle..." For baked Alaska
    "Will ought to know better.... And "pickup on the issue". Referred to the Denali auto pickup truck.

    - Snipper

    ReplyDelete
  57. Mount Denali
    From last week's thread I posted, "...making a mountain out of a molehill."

    ReplyDelete
  58. Hoagy, as Labor is an anagram of Bolshaya Gora.

    Just noticed this over at Wikipedia:

    This article is currently protected from editing until September 15, 2015, or until editing disputes have been resolved.
    This protection is not an endorsement of the current version. See the protection policy and protection log for more details. Please discuss any changes on the talk page; you may submit an edit request to ask an administrator to make an edit if it is uncontroversial or supported by consensus. You may also request that this page be unprotected.

    ReplyDelete
  59. I visited Denali National Park with my wife several years ago. When we got to the Wonder Lake Campground, The Mountain (which is what everyone called it, not Mount McKinley or Denali) was hidden by clouds. The next morning, a new mother, up to nurse her baby at about 2:00 am, woke the campground up with "The Mountain is out." Nothing like being far north near summer solstice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, David, you met a mom named Summer Solstice at Denali National Park?! How cool is that!

      Delete
    2. David, what exactly was the nursing mother referring to by "mountain"?

      LegoPerhapsSheWasAtGrandTetonNationalPark?

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    3. Lego and Jan, all I can think of is that you two are quite a pair.

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    4. I just think we're a couple of boobs.

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    5. Ridiculous. Just ridiculous.

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    6. In an attempt to pull the discussion out of dude-hood, I notice "The Mountain" uses the 5 "real" vowels (sorry Lego, couldn't resist) only once.

      Now you can go back to your gland old party.

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    7. Interesting analysis of Mount vs. Mountain vs Peak.

      Overall conclusion:

      Despite the fact that no summit-naming convention exists and summit names are often just a result of what sounded good to the namer, it is clear that there is a tendency – subconscious or otherwise – to call low profile masses Mountains, large isolated massifs Mounts, and clustered peaky summits Peaks.

      Some fun accompanying photos on the site like "If I'm a Mountain Goat, how can I climb a Peak?"

      Statistics :-)

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    8. Is this oh-ridge-in-all research?

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    9. Well, you've piqued my interest. You'll Grant there's not a Huge difference. Reminds me of a Hugh Grant movie. If the peak fits, there must be summit to it.

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    10. One more pun like that and you'll be under arête.

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    11. I took that for granite, even though I live in Seattle where we get moraine.

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    12. Well, you tor me a new one there!

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    13. Word Woman knows more about this stuff. I'll esker.

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    14. Col her now and axe. Perhaps she will add some couloir to the conversation

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    15. I kame to the same conclusion.

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    16. .... No answer. She may be playing with her orogenous zones.

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    17. Hopefully she won't get a crampon.

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    18. Indeed, the kindergartners and I were experimenting with living on Haiti (green jello) and Canada (brownie) in an earthquake. I noted that in Canada in an earthquake you'd just shrug your shoulders and say "Huh?" One girl noted that in Haiti you wouldn't even have time to shrug. . .

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    19. At least I didn't Descend to mentioning Crack Climbing, which would have been the Crux.

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    20. The previous dozen or so comments should make it clear as to why I chose geology as a profession. Just sill-y enough but yet it enables me to make a dolo-mite or two to share quartz of ophio-lite beer with fellow geologists at the Hard Rock Cafe.

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    21. OK, WW, if you're gonna bring up Jell-O and shaking, I'll return this thread to its starting point, and re-post something I posted to PEOTS last year:

      When I was growing up, I had an aunt who collected tchotchkes. Hanging in her bathroom as an objet d'art was one of those department store brassiere mannequins, waist to neck, front half only, clear Lucite. I had a better use in mind. Before a grad school party, I borrowed it. An assortment of Jell-o packages to approximate what Crayola used to call "Flesh", a couple of Maraschino cherries; it was for dessert, of course, but I unmolded it before the party, You had to see how many times someone accidentally bumped into the kitchen table that evening and set it jiggling.

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    22. Thanks for keeping us abreast of that.

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    23. Which confirms my hypothesis that some people can bring any mammary back to breasts. . .And why it's a bit mind-boggling that being called a "boob" isn't, on some level, a compliment. I know, I know there are different origins to the two uses. . .but still. . .

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  60. so many clues.
    Last week I wrote "hard to top that". Denali might be the hardest mountain to climb in the US.

    SDB's alternate: Mount Daniel, highest point in King County, WA. WW's alternate: Mount Massive, second highest peak in Colorado, if "we try harder" was the motto of Avis Cars, which was second to Hertz #1.

    Also, I wrote: "Stuck on this for a second, at first". The first verified ascent of Denali was on June 7, 1913, by climbers Hudson Stuck, Harry Karstens, Walter Harper, and Robert Tatum. Stuck lead the team, but Karstens was the first to summit. I think I also made a weak attempt at punning how hard it was to "submit/ summit" the puzzle with the new web page.

    Super Zee's event (in Iceland) 43 years ago was the Fischer-Spassky chess championship in 1972. I added the Gorbachev-Reagan Summit, also in Reykjavik, in 1986. I was in London one evening in 1988, sketching a building in Hyde Park. No one else around, when a long motorcade came zipping through. Reagan was in one of the cars, returning from his disastrous summit in Moscow. He was passed before I could make my patriotic gesture.

    All letters in order, 4 letters first, 10 letters second = Lake Willoughby, VT. Someone drowned there last week, it was in the local news.

    "we just had Dad Explain Not All Life Is exactly as you would hope".

    Ron (as usual) got my countries, the women's names are Adeline, Belinda, and Melinda.

    I apologize to all for "composing" those puns, which weren't fueled by alcohol.

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    Replies
    1. And Mount Daniel anagrams to [Mount] Denali.

      Denali is quite anagrammable. Are there others besides these words?

      Aldine
      Alined
      Daniel
      Delian
      Denial
      Lained
      Nailed
      Naledi (added today in Homo naledi)

      ecoarchitect, enjoyed your composed puns though some have been around long enough as to be considered composted puns. Every once in awhile you turn over a forkful and find the good buried stuff.


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    2. Doesn't it bother you that you can't get a one word anagram of "anagram". Also, that "palindrome" isn't one.

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    3. WW: how could you omit
      Adelin
      Aldein
      Aldeni
      Aldine

      and many, many more on my favorite anagram solver, http://anagram-solver.net/?

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    4. Interesting. I used Andy's anagrammer and was surprised there weren't more words on the list, though Aldine was on it. With apologies to Aldus Manutius of Venice, I like my Trout Al(mon)dine; there can be no denial. . .

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  61. MOUNT DENALI
    Troopers Daniel and Mount are summoned in "The Blues Brothers". Daniel is an anagram of Denali. I almost went with Elton John as a musical clue before the movie gave me a better idea.

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  62. Will Shortz says above:
    "Meanwhile, regarding this week's challenge, I'm aware that the answer officially goes by a one-word name."

    I wonder if he meant: "I was aware."

    If we don't point out his lack of clothes on this one, then we deserve no expectation of good challenges in the future.

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    1. I agree with you. Did you read my (skydiveboy Wed Sep 09, 11:25:00 PM PDT) post above?

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  63. SDB: I did indeed. I really hope the PM uses today's taping to clear the air over this unfortunate challenge.

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    Replies
    1. I bet you never heard of Mount Chomolungma or Mount Sagarmāthā either.

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  64. Will, I have visited this lovely location. We're always making the Sunday Puzzle a priority, but no lapel pin yet....

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  65. Next week's challenge: It's a well-known curiosity that the longest common unhyphenated word that can be typed on the top row of a typewriter or computer keyboard is TYPEWRITER.

    Find a common hyphenated word in 12 letters that can be typed using only the keys on the top row of a typewriter or computer keyboard.

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  66. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  67. I have a twelve letter solution, with a six letter synonym, which is also, in some usages, hyphenated.

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